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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
Crisis Report - Issue 213
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
August 20, 2013
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SADC
performs a back-step on democratization – CIZC
The Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) has expressed concern that the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) may have back-stepped from
the democratization front, following the bloc’s endorsement
of an unfair
election in Zimbabwe that was characterized by several violations
of regional poll standards.
Joy Mabenge,
the CiZC Regional Information and Advocacy Coordinator, said the
back peddling from democratic ideals was evidenced by lowering of
electoral standards after the regional bloc endorsed the disputed
July 31 election at the 33rd SADC Summit of the Heads of State and
Government in Lilongwe, Malawi,
which ended on August 18.
“The reality of
the matter is that we really need to push SADC because they set
principles and guidelines which are water tight that must be followed
by every member state and what seems to be happening now is that
SADC is allowing itself to lower standards as evidenced by the Zimbabwean
case,” said Mabenge.
Although civil society
had expected the regional bloc to look into the unfairness of the
election given that several guidelines on democratic elections set
and endorsed by the member states were violated, the Summit in Malawi
gave the Zimbabwean government a pat on the back saying it “noted
with satisfaction the holding of free and peaceful harmonized election”.
“Principle
2.1.5 of the SADC
principles and guidelines governing democratic elections stipulates
that there should be ‘equal opportunity for all political
parties to access the state media’ and yet it is clear from
the behaviour of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) that
they did not give equal access to other political parties and when
they did it was simply a broad-side on those parties without any
fair coverage. The SADC observers witnessed this and it is shocking
for SADC to then declare such an election as free and fair”,
added Mabenge.
Mabenge said that the
failure by the bloc to censure Zimbabwe with regards to the unfair
election could set a bad precedent and give the impression that
democratic standards in the regional bloc had hit a low point ahead
of elections to be held in Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique
and Swaziland by 2014.
The elections in the
mentioned SADC countries are going to be held with President Robert
Mugabe who “won” an unfair election preparing to take
the bloc’s chair in 2014.
CiZC Director McDonald
Lewanika said there were still avenues for engagement in search
of democracy by Zimbabweans with SADC under the tenure of Malawi’s
President Joyce Banda as SADC chairperson following her assumption
of duty at the recent Summit in 2013.
Commenting on President
Mugabe’s new role as deputy chairperson, Lewanika said: “In
reality there is nothing serious about that development because
it’s a position which just rotates among the member states
and not given on merit.”
Mabenge, who attended
meetings with civil society leaders from the region on the sidelines
of the SADC Summit in Lilongwe, urged regional citizens to unite
for the transformation of SADC itself and against a possible repeat
of the trend of lowering standards, which he said was enabled by
what he termed “protectionism”.
“The problem is
that we now have protectionism in SADC where the principle is that
‘you cannot harm your brother or sister’. The pressure
that we would like to apply on the regional bloc from now onwards
with fellow SADC citizens is that it is not good to lower standards
as it flies in the face of the democratization agenda in the region,”
he said.
Mabenge said: “As
CSOs from Zimbabwe and across the SADC region pushing for accountability
of our leaders at every level at which they operate, we left Malawi
with greater strength and conviction that we shall keep on engaging
and pushing SADC at all levels.
“We want to ensure
that they remain true to their commitments as espoused in the guidelines,
principles and protocols collectively set as standards for member
countries.”
On a positive note, Mabenge
said that the civil society leaders who were in Malawi on the sidelines
of the SADC Summit had welcomed the news of a possible re-introduction
of the SADC tribunal. “It is encouraging to note that there
is renewed effort to have the SADC Tribunal reinstated, with strong
calls also for the establishment of a SADC Court of Justice to serve
as a fall back institution where national processes fail citizens,”
he said.
The essence of developing
the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections
was to enhance transparency and credibility of elections and democratic
governance as well as ensuring the acceptance of election results
by all contesting parties. The Guidelines are not only informed
by the SADC legal and policy instruments but also by the major principles
and guidelines emanating from the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles
Governing Democratic Elections in Africa – AHG/DECL.1 (XXXVIII)
and the AU Guidelines for African Union Electoral Observation and
Monitoring Missions – EX/CL/35 (III) Annex II.
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